AT HOME WITH: Anthony Delasanta, URI track & field

Wednesday

EDITOR’S NOTE: At Home With is a series of stories about local college student-athletes whose seasons and classes were affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

EDITOR’S NOTE: At Home With is a series of stories about local college student-athletes whose seasons and classes were affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

With a highly successful indoor track & field season completed, University of Rhode senior Anthony Delasanta and his teammates were planning for a breakout spring session.

The Rams from the Atlantic 10 Conference finished in third place out of 22 teams in the New England championship meet on Feb. 1. Newport resident Delasanta took second in the 500 meters and combined with teammates to win the 4x400 relay.

Exactly a month later, URI captured the conference title as Delasanta won the 400 (48.47 seconds) for the second consecutive year, was runner-up in the 200 (21.87) and was a member of the winning 4x400 relay team.

A week after that, URI closed the indoor season by finishing seventh out of 35 teams in the IC4A championship event. Delasanta took sixth in the 400 after finishing with a time of 47.74 seconds in the preliminaries. The Rams had goals for the outdoor season as they split for spring break.

"We were third in New England and we won the conference championship," Delasanta said. "So we wanted to win New Englands and the IC4A championship and go to nationals. We were trying to ride the momentum."

But the Rams’ momentum swung the other way. The coronavirus saw to that.

"I was at home in Newport and at first it was just going to be school suspended for a month and then we come back and train for a month and maybe we compete," Delasanta said. "Then I heard UMass canceled and after that everything canceled."

Teammates felt betrayed by the NCAA because they would not get the opportunity to possibly complete one of the best seasons for a URI track & field team. Delasanta, who plans to attend grad school and continue his athletic career, put the circumstances in a different light.

"People were not happy," Delasanta said. "I was like, ’If I get sick then my dad gets sick and he could die.’ It’s not worth human lives. It’s just a bigger situation.

"It can’t be like sports is everything. If it means me staying at home, watching TV all day and doing what I want to do as a sacrifice, I’m willing to make that happen. It’s not the end of the world."

So Delasanta, who moved from Franklin, Massachusetts, to Newport with his parents David and Brenda last November, will do what he has to do.

"It’s like a constant vacation in Newport. You can go for a run still and stop and rest near the beach," Delasanta said. "If I was still in Franklin, I’d be bored out of my mind. I’d have to drive 30 minutes if I wanted to do anything.

"My parents wanted to retire in Newport. It’s kind of like their dream scenario."

Delasanta became interested in running while attending Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro.

"I was like third or fourth on the cross country team as a freshman," Delasanta said.

"But I didn’t like running on concrete for 70 minutes a day. It hurt really bad. So after that the only thing I did was track."

Delasanta made a name for himself while vying in short-distance races in high school and zeroed in on a handful of colleges before landing in South Kingstown.

"When I was looking at schools, URI had the best sprint program in New England," Delasanta said. "They dominated from 100 all the way to 400. I talked to the coach and he got me right into the school."

Delasanta is trying to remain structured with his schoolwork and training while waiting out the pandemic. He took a handful of online courses at URI and now has just one class to complete at home.

"I try to get up at 7:45 (in the morning) but that usually doesn’t happen. It’s more like 8:30," Delasanta said. "I get my coffee and then I immediately start doing work so I don’t get lethargic. I try to be as productive as possible the first hour I get up and I work until about 11:30.

"Then every day I run at 3. I drive out to Portsmouth and run on the (high school) track four days a week for workouts. The other two days I do mileage, hills or both. Sometimes I run up Catherine Street."

The sprinter, who is majoring in kinesiology, had a friend he did workouts with. But Colt Nichols, a Portsmouth High grad and current member of the University of Connecticut track team, and Delasanta no longer run together.

"We’re going to link up after this is over," Delasanta said.

While Delasanta and Nichols no longer train together, there are other people Delasanta sees during his workouts in Portsmouth. Still, atmosphere isn’t what it used to be.

"There’s like families together in the infield. But when I’ve been there, there’s never been more than 12 people," Delasanta said.

"Normally you banter with people when you’re out there. But there’s no social interaction. I miss that. And I miss my girlfriend. She’s home in New Jersey."

Delasanta practiced at least 2½ hours every day at school and continues to spend a lot of time training

"I try to do four hours a day devoted to track. It’s the bare minimum you need to be a fast person," Delasanta said. "If you’re a fast runner, you have to a lot of things. You have to be strong, super fast and you have to have endurance."

Delasanta’s best indoor efforts are: 7.01 in the 60; 21.91 in the 200; 47.13 in the 400 and 1:03 in the 500. Outdoors, he’s done 10.75 in the 100, 21.28 in the 200 and 47.27 in the 400.

Kebba Nasso holds the university indoor record (46.65) in the 400, while Ashhad Agyapong holds the outdoor record (46.75) in the same event. Delasanta was on the cusp of establishing new school records and he will continue that pursuit whenever the pandemic allows.

"My goal is always to break the school record in the 400 meters. I think I was really on a pace to do it this year," Delasanta said.

srogers@newportri.com

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